All those magazine articles that promote those highly restrictive diet plans and hours of monotonous treadmill based cardio. The same one’s that go on to describe the “toning” process as picking a light set of dumbbells and performing sets of 20-30 repetitions on any given exercise.

Knowing all we know about female specific training today, we can put some of that in the past.

Muscle & Strength’s Women's Trainer Workout

This 12 week program is perfect for any healthy woman who is looking to transform her body through a good weight lifting program.

The goal is to help you develop lean and functional muscle tone through foundational lifts. The workout itself targets your lower body three times a week with a strong focus on your glutes, and your upper body twice a week with a focus on sculpting the muscles of the arms.

To increase the total number of calories burned each day, we’ve also added some recommended cardio sessions that you can do either in the morning or after that day’s workout. However, if you are limited on time, they are not required to see progress with this workout.

Rest periods for this program should be kept to 30-90 seconds in between sets and exercises.

Weekends:

Quick Note on Nutrition

It is important to note that your success with any workout program depends greatly on your nutrition and sleep habits. Make sure you get 7-9 hours of sleep each night and eat enough calories to help you get the results you desire.

Our BMR calculator will help you know how many calories you need to maintain your current body weight.

If your goal is to lose weight, subtract ~250 calories from this number. If you are underweight, try to add ~250 calories to this number. And if you are already at your ideal weight, make sure to eat the proper amount of calories to maintain.

Quick Note on Tracking Progress

It is important to track your results to show you’ve made progress with this program. At the beginning of the 12 weeks you should plan to take your preferred form of measurements.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to share your progress with us! We’d love to help out, keep you motivated, and even feature your success. Tag us in your transformation posts on social media!

These measurements can include progress pictures, scale weighing, tape measurements, and skinfold caliper measurements. I recommend starting with what you are most comfortable with first and adding more as you feel comfortable.

The more data you have on yourself, the better you can tinker with variables such as increasing reps, sets, or weight used during your workouts, increasing the hours you sleep each night, increasing the amount of cardio you do each week, and/or increasing or decreasing the amount of calories you eat each day.

How frequently you measure your progress is completely up to you, but I’d recommend doing so once a month or 6 weeks to make sure you are progressing towards your goals.

Quick Note on Progressing with This Workout

You should strive to increase some variable within your workout each week. Whether that means increasing the weight you use or the amount of rep and sets you perform is going to be based on your individual preference.

One way you could go about it is to start off with the low end on all of the set and rep counts. Then each week add a single set on one exercise each day of each week. Once you’re doing all the maximum amount of recommended sets for each exercise, you could then add in 1-2 reps to each set of each exercise for the remaining weeks.

Another way you could progress is to keep your reps and sets the same throughout the whole 12 weeks. But each week you should aim to slightly increase the weight you use for each exercise.

Either way works and will help you see great results.

What Should I Do After the 12 weeks?

After you’ve completed the 12 weeks of this women’s trainer, you should take a week to deload.

If after you deload, you decide you’d like to try another 12 weeks of this program, then you should come back refreshed and ready to make more progress.

If you have any questions or would like to leave a review for this program, please feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below!

This program looks great and I can't wait to start it. The only problem I have right now is that I don't have access to a lot of workout machines, such as the glute cable kickback. Any suggestions on how to target the same muscles without a machine?

I'd recommend subbing them out for bodyweight glute kickbacks. Really focus on contracting the glutes with each repetition. You could also perform these with ankle weights for a little extra resistance if need be.

Weight selection is going to be highly individualized across the board. I would recommend using 70-85% of your working max depending on the rep range prescribed (lower rep ranged requiring closer to 85%, higher rep ranges closer to 70%).

For those who may not know their working max on a particular lift, I always recommend selecting a weight you know you can perform the prescribed number of reps with. If you find the weight is light, move up on your next set. If it is too heavy, move down on your next set. If it is just right, stay put!

When performing these exercises, you should never reach mechanical failure (where your form breaks on a lift). Always aim to feel as though you have one rep left in the tank.

I hope this helps and best of luck with the program! If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out!

Would it be okay to replace any of the suggested cardio with outdoor runs or interval running on the treadmill? I want to make sure my cardio is still effective for this workout, but I also am looking to maintain and increase my overall running distance and speed. Thanks!

Yes, absolutely! The important thing is remaining active - and incorporating a blend of cardiovascular and strength training into your workouts. If you have alternative cardio preferences than listed, it's perfectly ok to opt for those.

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to do a quick check-in. I've been doing this program for about 1 month and so far I love it.

Current progress:
Major shrinkage in that sports-bra-back-boob thing (y'all know what I'm talking about), and my abs are starting to come through. Also my butt is indeed looking perkier! All around, full body slimming and trimming.

Some notes:
I am paying attention to my nutrition and counting macros (not perfectly, but much improved than before I was doing this program) and I think nutrition is a non-negotiable.
Also, I do the suggested cardio most days, like about 4 times per week, but not every single day due to time constraints from working out in the morning before work.

Thanks for a great program, Josh! I'll check in again in another month. I took some before pics, mayyyybe I'll share those plus "afters" when I'm done with the 12 weeks. Keep it up ladies!

Yes, a and b represents that those two exercises are part of a superset.

You can certainly superset exercises that aren't part of an already established superset if you're low on time. I'm all for people altering these templates to better fit their needs. But, if you do have the time to perform the program as is, I think it would be the best option for this particular workout.

Hi, I'm working out at home. What should I substitute for the Smith Machine Sumo Squat? I used heal squats instead... Also your calorie calculator has me at 1,453 calories. If I subtract the 250 calories, I will be hungry. I am at about 23% body fat and would like to lean out some.

You could try starting off with a 100 calorie deficit and aim to eat foods rich in fiber and high in protein to increase satiety. Track your results and if you're progressing to your goal, keep at it. If not - or if you still feel it is not enough food, seek to increase your caloric expenditure through additional low intensity exercise.

Hi! I would like to know if you recommend completing the cardio before the weights or after weights? I do like warming up before my workout, would doing cardio first be a good way to warm up? Also, do you recommend taking preworkout with this workout program and when do you recommend drinking a protein shake for weight loss?

1. I recommend performing your cardio after your workouts and/or on your rest days. Your warm ups should be specific to the movements you're performing that day. This can include stretching and foam rolling the muscles you're about to train, and even a dynamic warm up.

2. You can certainly take a preworkout before performing this program. I'd recommend eating a preworkout meal about 1-2 hours before your workout consisting of carbs and proteins. This will help fuel your workouts.

Then, 20-30 minutes before working out, you can take your preworkout for the supplemental benefits of caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, and whatever else your pre may have.

Then, subtract ~250 calories from that number to get your deficit for optimal weight loss (~0.5lb a week). This is a very sustainable approach and if done consistently, will help you crush your goals!

Now, when it comes to protein shakes, you can consume them as needed to help you meet your daily protein needs. Pre and/or post workout are excellent times to help aid in your workout recovery. However, some people will take them as meal replacements or snacks as needed as well.

With that being said, if you're still consuming more than your daily calorie needs, protein supplementation will not lead to weight loss.

Hi! I am trying to find a workout program that is going to show results for me. For some health issues i have put on weight and haven't seen to be able to get it off. I am committed to going to the gym 5 days a week and prefer it but i am also concerned about how much training is meant for the legs and want to make sure that my end result is a strong & sexy physique. I have looked at some of your other programs like your 8 week full body for women but i like how long this program is so i can get into a routine. any suggestions on how i can build a workout that i can design how i want my body to look ?

You can perform the full body workout for longer than 8 weeks if you wish. The program doesn't truly determine it's duration. So long as you are enjoying it and making progress towards your goals, you can run whatever program for as long as you wish.

If you're committed to exercising 5 times a week, make the other 2 days with that program your active recovery days. Perform a form of cardio, stretching (yoga), and some deep tissue work during that day.

For this program, you'll perform the 5 workouts listed each week for 12 weeks. This will allow you to track the amount of weight you use for each exercise and try to increase it over the 12 week period.

Some of the other fitness platforms out there have popularized changing your workout every single day. But, generally, the best approach is to keep them similar for a decent amount of time. This allows you to progress with your workouts easier.

Progress is determined by progressive overload, not "muscle confusion". To make progress, you have to make your workouts more challenging over time. And the easiest way to do this is by increasing the reps, sets, or weight you use during your workouts.

Hope this helps and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!

Hi! I’m in week four of this program, and I was just wondering when I might start to see results? I’m seeing results in how I feel (which is way more energized) but I was just curious about when someone should results in appearance with this type of program?

Everyone will experience different results with the program. Although, depending on how you're measuring your results, you should've noticed some sort of change by now.

What kind of measurables are you tracking? Tape measurements, bodyfat percentage, and weight used during your workouts are all great indicators of how you're progressing. Scale weight can be, but can also not be a true indication of your results as it doesnt account for your hydration, lean muscle mass, and undigested food in your gut.

While not 100% accurate, I used to generalize with folks new to training that it takes 4 weeks for you to start to see results, 8 weeks for your friends and family, and 12 weeks for the world to notice. Changing your body composition takes time and consistency. Be patient and keep working hard, you'll see the results you're after.

Hello!
So I have to ask, according to the BMR I should be eating 2100 calories a day. Wouldn’t that lead to weight gain.m? Do you have any recommendations that would help prevent gaining weight from eating that much?

In short, no it shouldn't lead to any unnecessary weight gain if that's what you require to maintain an energy balance.

That being said, if you're used to a much lower calorie balance, you'll want to add in these calories slowly. I'd recommend tracking what you eat using a calorie counter app for a couple of weeks to see what you're currently consuming. Then, slowly add calories back in until you reach your maintenance level if maintaining your weight is your goal.

Hi! I’m on week 3 of this workout program and it’s going well so far. My only concern is overtraining. I was reading it’s too much to train legs every other day like in this program, and they really should only be trained once or twice a week. Is this true? Could I be doing myself a disservice with this program by overtraining? Thanks!

It's very hard to truly overtrain. It is, however, very easy to under-recover. Especially if you're not eating enough calories or getting enough sleep each night (or have a high stress lifestyle with a hectic work schedule and familial obligations).

I don't think the amount of volume in this particular program would be too much for most women. The exercise selection has a good balance between targeting the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. So the overall volume impacting any one of those muscle groups isn't particularly high (atleast not high enough to create an overtraining issue in most).

Most people can train a muscle group 2-4 times per week. Of course, this will depend on their training experience and individual recovery rates.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out!

i was looking for such a programme for long. I have been weight training for the last two years. 30 years old, 52.5 kg 1.60m. after personal training i decided to find a proper workout to push my self further. So i will start this one! thanks!
However, i really need to combine this with a proper diet plan. would you suggest something? Please keep in mind that my foal is to be lean and gain muscles at the same time.
Thanks
Anna

That is awesome! Thanks for giving our program a shot! Hope you see the results you are hoping for.

Recommending diet is kind of tricky as everyone will need different calorie amounts, respond better to different macro ratios, have different food preferences, and have different accessibility to food due to geographical location and/or economic limitations.

That said, the vast majority of your results will come down to calories in vs calories out.

Then if your goal is to build lean muscle mass, add about 250 calories to that number. If your goal is to lose fat, subtract about 250 calories from that number. If your goal is maintain your current weight, simply remain at that number.

I'd recommend using a diet tracking app such as myfitnesspal to gain a sense of what you're currently eating and how it breaks down macro-wise. From there you can make small changes to up whatever nutrient requirements you might be struggling to meet.

Hope this helps! If there is anything I can better help clarify, please reach out!

Hi, so I’m loving the program but I’m on week 3 and finding it hard to go up in some of the week one dumbell excersises because it’s hurting my hands to hold heavier dumbbells, eg for the lunges.. can I just use a bar instead? So I can sit it on my upper back?

Option 1 would be to remain at the same weight of dumbbells you are currently using (or even slightly less if you're experiencing true pain) and performing the exercises at that weight until you do feel comfortable in moving up. This will help build your grip and hand strength.

Option 2 would be to do as you have suggested here and using a barbell. With that said, the important thing when performing lunges is to keep your body upright. If you experience yourself leaning forward, drop the amount of weight you're using during your sets or move the weight from being positioned on your back to in front of your body (similarly to how you would for a front squat).

Hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if anything is unclear or if you have any other questions.

Add weight whenever you feel comfortable enough to add weight without breaking form on an exercise. This could potentially be weekly, biweekly, or even triweekly. You might also notice you can add weight faster on certain lifts than others. So long as you are progressing and making your workouts more challenging over time, you'll see results from the program.

I just wanted to say I completed the second day of this program today. I love that it's straight forward and works all areas of the body. I have never really felt that good ache in so many places. I was clearly not pushing myself or working all areas before. I am over 50% BF right now which is awful but feeling stronger already which I love. Can't wait to see where I'm at in 12 weeks time.

Hi there! Really excited to try out this program! How are these sets meant to be completed? Are they supersets under each category? Or just complete the single exercise with short rests in between each set?

Welcome to M&S! Glad you like the program! Hope it helps you achieve your goals!

Weight selection is going to be highly individualized across the board. I would recommend using 70-85% of your working max depending on the rep range prescribed (lower rep ranged requiring closer to 85%, higher rep ranges closer to 70%).

For those who may not know their working max on a particular lift, I always recommend selecting a weight you know you can perform the prescribed number of reps with. If you find the weight is light, move up on your next set. If it is too heavy, move down on your next set. If it is just right, stay put!

When performing these exercises, you should never reach mechanical failure (where your form breaks on a lift). Always aim to feel as though you have one rep left in the tank.

I hope this helps and best of luck with the program! If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out!

Hi,
Would you recommend this workout if I want to lose fat ( probably 10kg) and tone my body - without any supplements ? I've noticed when I was on supplements I've gone very muscly. My goal is to have bikini body (toned, get bigger chest if possible by doing exercises).
Any advice would be much appreciated.

We do not have an app available at this time. All of our workout programs have a downloadable PDF you can use to take the workout with you. I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but I hope it will help in the meantime.

I want to start weight training, and I found this and think its a good fit. But, can I add more exercises to it. Including a small core workout every other day?, Also, can I add pull ups every other day and replace lying dumbbell flys instead of machine ones?

I started this workout plan, I’m finishing up my 3rd week. I love the plan and it’s going great so far but I had a question. Do you recommend those doing this plan start including protein powder/shakes in their diet? I’ve started eating a healthier diet of mostly meat and veggies, drinking a gallon of water/day but not sure about protein powders. Thank you.